Peekaboo: The mother polar bear and her cub just outside their snow den, pausing as the newborn takes in the great wide world for the first timeBlinking in the brilliant light, this is a fluffy polar bear cub coming face to face with the spectacular Arctic outdoors for the first time.
The rare images, taken on the Alaskan coast, show the cub's mother gently helping her baby acclimatise to the open wilderness.
The huge bear and her youngster spent the cub's first weeks concealed inside their hidden snow den.
It's spring! The cub's excitement at the brand new world is obvious to seeNow they will spend about three weeks around the mouth of the den, allowing the newborn to get used to life above ground.
Once their infants are ready to venture further afield, mother bears lead them out onto the Arctic sea ice to learn the art of seal hunting - and everything they needs to become the world's largest land carnivore.
The amazing event was caught on camera by renowned wildlife photographer and environmentalist Steven Kazlowski, from Seattle, USA., when he visited the Arctic region in April.
Spending months at a time away on expeditions, Steven, 40, has only now been able to share them with the world
I love you, Mum: The cub snuggles against its mother as the pair appear to take a little nap in the powdery snow. The mother will spend several weeks acclimatising her newborn to life above ground before taking it further afield to teach it how to hunt seal and survive on its ownOn this special occasion he was touring the region with a Inupiat Eskimo guide who could show him the secrets of the Arctic using generations of local knowledge.
Steven said: 'We set up camp over two miles away, built a snow blind nearer to the den so we could watch without disturbing them, and then waited patiently.
'The mother would emerge with her little one in tow, and I was able to photograph them for a couple of days until, one calm clear evening, she left with her cub to head out on the sea ice.
'The cub was probably 13-14 weeks old or so. It was probably born early January last and spent its first weeks huddled up to mum safely inside the den
Cuddles: The mother playfully nips at the cub as they frolic in the snow. The cub is believed to be about two months old'It's always exciting to see polar bears in nature. I will never tire of it as they are fascinating creatures. It is always special.'
However Steven, who this year lectured at the UN climate change conference COP-15 in Copenhagen, said he feels that sights like this will soon be lost to the history books thanks to global warming.
The oceans where the bears depend on the formation of summer sea ice so that they can hunt out at sea appear to be changing at an alarming rate, he said.
He said: 'Photographing bears I have seen first-hand how the Arctic is changing drastically in our lifetime.
'This past April, temperatures over the Chukchi Sea reached a record-breaking 40 degrees Fahrenheit (4 degrees Celsius).
'In some areas the sea ice was extremely thin. Polar bears need that ice to survive. The Arctic environment is paying the price for the way our society has lived.'
source: dailymail
Posts
